Cendant Hotel Group
today said it has signed an agreement with Groople Inc. to offer special rates for leisure group travel planners.Discounted group inventory will be offered for participating Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, Travelodge, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Wingate Inn and AmeriHost Inn franchised hotels.

The agreement will ensure that retail group rates for Cendant-franchised hotel rooms are displayed prominently on groople.com, which caters to leisure group travel planners. 

Groople.com, an automated group booking system, gives travel planners the ability to plan, book and manage all aspects of their group trips online, including travel, hotel bookings and event planning.  Groople also hosts a call center to handle special requests and more complex needs including booking banquet facilities, registering for events and finding unique group activities.

Groople will enable Cendant lodging franchisees to check and manage group inventory on the Internet in response to their unique market needs.  “Best of all, our franchisees will be able to tap this potential revenue source at no additional cost,” said Bob Chafey, Cendant Hotel Group senior director of tour markets. 

“Groople helps us serve travel planners looking for a way to make group bookings faster and easier while providing our franchised hotels with a new way to increase their group business,” he said.  “We expect our clients will use Groople to book family reunions, military groups, sports teams and social groups.”

Groople Chief Executive Officer David Loy said the agreement “boosts the company’s inventory by nearly 60 percent and gives leisure travelers more options than ever before.”

“We’re excited about partnering with Cendant because we share the same goals: to simplify group travel while providing the best rates,” he said.

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